PART II Imagine yourself at the scene of a car-bomb explosion in front of a school, in a community where bulldozers are illegally demolishing houses, or at a worksite where an international corporation is violating safety standards and employees are working in dangerous conditions. You want to interview witnesses about the human rights violations either at the scene or a short distance away. Should you conduct the interviews on camera or not? Here’s some guidance to consider. Key Principles Principle 1: Do No Harm Under all circumstances, frontline documenters must strive to “do no harm” when asking individuals to provide information about a human rights incident. In some cases, individuals, their families, or their communities may be put at risk simply by being in the presence of or in contact with a frontline documenter who is collecting testimony. Capturing testimony on video increases the possibility that the interviewees will be identified as cooperating with advocates for accountability, which may amplify the risks they will face should the video fall into the wrong hands or be seen by the wrong person. Frontline documenters must make every effort to avoid causing harm when doing monitoring work. This means constantly balancing the need for information with the potential risk of harm to those who provide such information. In some circumstances, this may mean that you forgo the collection of information. At minimum, frontline documenters need to • understand the risks involved in the collection of information; • ensure interviewees give their informed consent to participate in the interview; • protect the information documented; • take special precautions when working with children, persons with mental disabilities, survivors of sexual violence and other trauma, and other vulnerable populations; and • to the extent possible, seek further guidance and training that will help you with your interviewing efforts. Additional strategies to ensure that the principle of “do no harm” is honored during the interview process are woven throughout this section. HARM 143 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: FILMING PRELIMINARY INTERVIEWS V 1.0 FILMING CHOOSE YOUR METHOD OF DOCUMENTATION